Why does my ginger bug smell like vinegar?

Question

Had a bug going since July, fed it most days, made soda with it every week or so. Then I went away for a fortnight and left it on the worktop. Came back to…

acetic_takeover · Accepted Answer

Flavour, not safety, and it is recoverable. What has happened is that one half of the culture has run away with it. Yeasts eat sugar and give you the fizz plus a little alcohol. Acetic acid bacteria then turn that alcohol into acetic acid, which is vinegar.

Underfed, left too long, warm, plenty of air: that is the exact set of conditions that hands the jar to the vinegar side. Your fortnight on a worktop is all four at once. The sugar ran out, the alcohol got converted, and the smell followed.

fuzzy_means_bin · Answer

Worth being precise about what you are checking for, since vinegar smell gets treated as a warning sign and is not one. Acidity discourages most of what you would actually worry about, which is why a sour jar is in less trouble than a sweet neglected one.

The bin signals are fuzzy or coloured mould, and a smell that is rotten or putrid rather than sharp. Sediment is just yeast that has settled. Sharp and clean plus a bit of sludge is a jar that needs feeding, not throwing out.

Why does my ginger bug smell like vinegar?

3 answers